Traditional & Regional Breads from Your Bread Machine

Some bread recipes have emerged from ancient and proud traditions. Here are three that define a time and a culture.

Breads have defined civilization for thousands of years. But some breads have emerged as a unique mark of a culture or tradition. We’re going to explore three bread recipes that meet the mark for that criteria including an ancient recipe called “Ezekiel bread;” a simple bread popular in the America’s called “Corn bread,” and a European concept built around garlic as a primary flavor-note popular across Italy, France and other parts of Europe.

All of these bread recipes can be baked in a bread machine, or you can use the dough-cycle and finish the bread in a conventional oven. Our recommendation in this article is that you finish the Ezekiel bread in a conventional oven given the complexity of the recipe.

Ezekiel Bread Recipe:

(Makes two 1.5 pound loaves)

Ezekiel bread is actually a bread recipe found in the Old Testament Bible.

In verse 4:9 in the book of Ezekiel is the following instructions: “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt, put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself.” Those instructions aren’t exactly clear, but we’ll go into more detail here.

This bread recipe is actually very nutritious and provides not only high sources of fiber but proteins from the beans including niacin and thiamine. This is also a very complex recipe. You have to sprout the grains and the beans and then dry them and grind them into a flour in a food processor or flour grinder if you have one. Here’s the recipe and the steps:

Take all of the grains and beans and soak them in a bowl of water overnight. Line a couple of large baking pans with moist paper towels and spread the grains and beans over the pans. You may need 3 pans depending on their size. Top the grains and beans with more moist paper towels. Sprinkle water over the paper towels for two to three days or until the beans and grains have sprouted. Remove the paper towels and let the spouted beans and grains dry out. This may take a day or two in the sun or in the kitchen.

You could also try drying them at low temperature in an oven, but keep an eye on the pans every 10 to 20 minutes. 200º F./93º C. is a good place to start. You don’t want to burn the sprouts, you want to get everything dry so you can make a course flour.(Making the flour and the dough)

Place the dried and sprouted beans and grains into a food processor, blender or flour grinder and grind into a flower. Preheat the oven to 350ºF./175ºC.

Place all of the ingredients into the bread pan of the bread machine and select the dough cycle. When the cycle is complete divide the dough and place into two buttered 9×5 inch bread-baking pans. The dough will actually have a batter like consistency.

Let the dough rise for about an hour and bake for about 50 minutes or until golden brown. Take the loaves from the pan and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve or store wrapped for 3 days unrefrigerated or up to 3 weeks refrigerated. The result will be a very rustic looking loaf that goes great with soups or any meal with a gravy.

Garlicky Garlic Bread Recipe:

(Makes a 1.5 pound loaf)

This recipe is for people who really love garlic. It combines garlic powder, chopped garlic and sliced garlic as a topping. It’s traditionally served in Italy as an accompaniment for any pasta dish, and in France is often served with wild game or sweetbreads like livers, kidneys and hearts. The sliced garlic topping as added when the kneading cycle is complete and before the rising cycle begins.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of water 110º F./43º C.

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of room temperature butter

1 tablespoon of garlic powder

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

3 cups of bread flour

2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast

Top with 3 tablespoons of thinly sliced garlic cloves

DIRECTIONS:

Add all of the ingredients to the bread pan in the order indicated in the recipe and select the basic or white bread cycle for a 1.5 pound loaf and the dark crust setting. Begin the cycle but be watchful for the end of the kneading cycle. Many machines will beep at this point. Redistribute the dough into an even shape in the bread pan and top with the sliced garlic before the rising cycle begins. When the bread is done remove it from the bread pan and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve. You may need to run a rubber spatula along the sides of the bread pan to release any garlic pieces that have caramelized and stuck to the side of the bread pan.

Southern Cornbread Recipe:

Cornbread has its origins from Native Americans who made a bread from Maize or Indian corn. It’s very popular across the America’s and especially in the southern United States. The recipe has evolved over time and the recipe we’re featuring is the current and classic combination.

Two Things to Remember

For one, you’re going to have a batter consistency so don’t worry about getting a perfect dough ball. Two, you’ll be using the “cake” setting on your bread machine. If you don’t have a cake setting you can pour the batter into a buttered 8×8 inch cake-pan and bake in the oven at 375º F. 190º C. for 30 minutes or until a toothpick or wooden skewer emerge from the center without moisture on the stick.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cornmeal

1 – 1/4 cup flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs – lightly beaten

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter or oil

DIRECTIONS:

Add the ingredients in the order indicated and select the cake setting. If your machine doesn’t have a cake setting you can always the oven option identified above. When the cornbread is done let it rest for 10 minutes and then slice and serve.

Steve Nubie has been writing professionally for 38 years. He is a Chef and has traveled across Asia and Europe studying language, culture and cuisine. He instructs culinary classes in the Culinary School at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois and has written extensively on cuisine, cooking, diet and nutrition. He is a published author of 10 books including a cookbook and continues to write on subjects related to culinary trends.